Casa Grande police K-9 recovering after rattlesnake bite during training

CASA GRANDE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – A Casa Grande Police Department K-9 is back with his partner after being injured during a training exercise Wednesday. Officer Thomas Scheurn said his partner, K-9 Deutz, was bitten by a rattlesnake. Arizona’s Family was there for the reunion.

Deutz was excited to see Officer Scheurn. They wasted no time leaving the Arizona Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Center in Gilbert, where he spent the night. “We were walking around a vehicle; he was doing a mock drug sniff,” Officer Scheurn said. “As we were walking around the vehicle, Deutz basically started crying, and I looked down at his foot and saw a little bit of blood on the top of his foot,” he continued.

It happened on the training fields back behind the police department around noon. Scheurn said Deutz received a rattlesnake vaccine, but he knew he still needed anti-venom. So he started calling around to animal hospitals. “He did quite well here at the hospital,” Veterinarian Ryan Reeves said. He explained a few pets come in every week suffering from rattlesnake bites.

Arizona’s Family asked if the vaccine was worth considering. “Based on your animal’s activity, you know if they have exposure to it. It’s certainly something to discuss with your local veterinarian,” Dr. Reeves said.

“He looks good, he’s got a little bit of a hobble still, but he’s already walking on his back foot, which is great,” Scheurn said.

The Casa Grande Police Department took to Facebook to post about the ordeal, asking people to keep Deutz in their thoughts. “He’s a 100 percent a part of the police department; I’ve received a multitude of text messages and calls inquiring about the status of Deutz and how he’s feeling, and it just goes to show how much people care about him, and they love him,” Scheurn said.

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